Lyric Opera House
Exterior of venue, c. 2013
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| Full name | The Patricia & Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric |
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| Former names | The Music Hall (1894-1909) Lyric Opera House (1909-2010) |
| Address | 110 W Mount Royal Ave Baltimore, MD 21201-5714 |
| Location | Downtown Baltimore |
| Public transit | University of Baltimore — Mt. Royal |
| Owner | The Lyric Foundation |
| Operator | Lyric Productions, LLC |
| Capacity | 2,564 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 31 October 1894 |
| Renovated | 1908, 1921, 1980-82, 2010-11, 2014 |
| Tenants | |
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Metropolitan Opera (1904-Present) Lyric Opera Baltimore (2011-Present) Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (1916-82) Baltimore Opera Company (1950-2009) |
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| Website | |
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Lyric Theatre
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| Coordinates | 39°18′20″N 76°37′9″W / 39.30556°N 76.61917°WCoordinates: 39°18′20″N 76°37′9″W / 39.30556°N 76.61917°W |
| Built | 1893 |
| Architect | T. Henry Randall |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| NRHP Reference # | 86000131 |
| Added to NRHP | January 23, 1986 |
The Modell Performing Arts Center (originally The Music Hall and formerly the Lyric Opera House) is a music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, located close to the University of Baltimore. The building was modeled after the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, and it was inaugurated on 31 October 1894 with a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Australian opera singer Nellie Melba as the featured soloist. Beginning 1904, it was also used for touring performances by the Metropolitan Opera, and from 1950, it was the home of the Baltimore Opera Company until the company's liquidation in 2009.
The Lyric has been the home of the Lyric Opera Baltimore company since 2011. It was founded after the demise of Baltimore Lyric Opera.
Prior to the 1909 purchase of the building on behalf of the Metropolitan Opera by Otto Kahn, Oscar Hammerstein I presented an opera season and began to make plans to remodel it by enlarging the stage area. However Kahn's purchase caused the venue's name to be changed to the Lyric Theatre. and firmed up the continuity of the Metropolitan Opera's annual visits. In the early 20th century, the Lyric Opera featured opera tenor Enrico Caruso who appeared there with the Metropolitan Opera in a performance of Flotow's Martha.
In 1950, building on earlier amateur efforts, the Baltimore Opera was formally established as the Baltimore Civic Opera Company, with the famous American soprano Rosa Ponselle as its first artistic director. She brought Beverly Sills to Baltimore for a production of Manon in 1952. By 1970, the name was changed to Baltimore Opera Company and had become firmly established at the Lyric.
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